...During the past few months I have gathered together an oppression journal which contains oppressive behavior I have witnessed and challenged and a list of questions I have interest in regarding oppression in which I collected others opinions. I also have done quite a bit of self-reflection as to how these two things have changed my view on the world around me and helped me gain a better understanding of oppression. Oppression can be defined in four categories, unequal power, inequitable distribution of resources, inflexible policies and practices and ethnocentric culture. During my interviews, I talked with Zariah who is a 20 year Mexican American female, Jordyn who is a 27 year old White American female and Justin who is a 24 year old White American male. My questions touched on their belief of whether White Privilege exists, what language a child should be able to take standardized tests in, marriage equality, their opinion on the government and an issue of racism and examples of their own oppressive behavior as well as if they have challenged oppressive behavior they witnessed. With the question of whether or not white privilege exists, Justin said he does believe it exists because a police officer...
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...of the child I have observed and the setting in which the observation took place. Next I attempt to show my understanding of normal child development, and aspects that can disrupt ‘normal’ child development. Throughout the essay, I will critically examine and reflect on the process of undertaking my observation. And finally, issues of ethics and anti- oppressive practises will be discussed. The child I have observed was three and half year’s old girl called Sara (not her real name), of African Caribbean background and English is the only language spoken at home. All three observations took place at the day-centre she attends. The day-care centre gave me permission to observe her, but not to interact and interfere with her educational activities. As this was my first observation, I was a bit anxious about how Sara might react about me watching her, and while her parents consented about the observations, Sara did not know that I am here to observe her; it is this scenario that made me uncomfortable. I was particularly more concerned about the ethical issues of not informing Sara about the observation. One element of anti-oppressive practice is to make sure that people’s rights are not violated. Social workers must put children’s needs first, and to respect their human rights, including rights to liberty, privacy and family life (Dalrymple and Burke, 1995: 57). In common with anyone who is undertaking child observations, I was quite unsure where to start and how to conduct myself...
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...3) In the selected verse of Adrienne Rich’s poem “The Burning of Paper Instead of Children,” Rich’s thought-provoking use of words and language relates to the cycle of oppression. Rich believes that through verbal exchanges, individuals are passing down oppressed ideas to one another, furthering the colonization of the mind. In the verse “…knowledge of the oppressor/ this is the oppressor’s language/ yet I need it to talk to you,” Rich depicts the paradoxical nature of society’s colonization of the mind and her conscious effort to be free of such mindset. Rich is fully aware of the knowledge that she is citing and the language that she is speaking is tainted with the oppressor’s – society’s – ideals. Yet she also believes that these two elements are needed in today’s everyday communication. It is dangerous when an act as natural as interacting with others can be oppressive, because language is an extremely powerful tool. All forms of languages, such as verbal exchange, body language and sign languages to name a few, are capable of changing perspectives of others. When used appropriately, people can use languages to end the outcomes of mind colonizing, such as racial stereotypes and racial superiority. However, most people abuse their ability to connect with others and use communication as means of perpetuating judgment of “others” and marginalizing certain groups, which ultimately results in a nonstop cycle of oppression. In the verses “…and they take the book away/ love and...
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...the package are present upon receiving it. The first book is titled “Doing anti-oppressive practice – building transformative politicized social work” edited by Donna Baines which focuses on suggesting new and innovative ideas to approach anti-oppressive practice. The book is a completion of ten authors, all with wide-ranging experience in front line and social justice practice. Each author focuses on his or her own individual experience, which would range from health-care to childcare while analyzing the problem and avoiding applying “band-aids”. The authors through their experiences would attempt to solve and understand the social problem rather than attempting to cover it up. The second book titled “Connecting policy to practice in the Human Services” by Brad McKenzie and Brain Wharf is written to prompt readers with an understanding of the impact of policies on the Human Services rather than within the Human Services. HRSV 311 is a course that takes everyday situations, and challenges its students to think beyond the boarders of oppression, globalization, cutbacks and inequity. This is to provide clients with a better life with options and opportunities for their future. The key aspect of the course that was crucial to me was understanding the voice of the vulnerable, society becoming neutralized to inequity and uncovering how to use alternative anti-oppressive techniques as an AOP (anti-oppressive practitioner) and focusing on prevention. Chapter one to three focuses on...
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...This approach is influenced by Karl Marx, a German intellectual and all critical theorists. Believed that critique would reveal fundamental truths about human social condition. See theory as a force that can emancipate individuals from dominating organizations. Consider how employees resist organizational dominance. Encourage organizational transformation. Key concept * Power * Power relationships * Emancipation * Resistance Basically, individuals are always conscious of who has the power and who has control over whom. Traditional approach Considers power with control over resources or with hierarchical status Symbolical approach Views power as a product of communicative interactions and relationships * Ideology Refers to the taken-for-granted assumptions about reality that influence perception of situations and events. Shapes our understanding about what exists, what is good, and what is possible. Involves assumptions that are rarely questioned: hierarchy is necessary & useful. Can influence our behaviors. Tied to systems of power and domination * Hegemony Process in which dominant group leads another group to accept subordination as the norm * Workers support hierarchical structures because that’s the right way to go * Shapes ideology to achieve acceptance and participation of the subordinated group in the control process Process in which dominant group leads another...
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...While “faggot” is broadly used today, there seems to be three main categories that its significance plays in. The first way this word is used is as a derogatorily offensive term for someone whose identifies as an active member of the male homosexual community. The second, and more common way, this word is being used is as a slang word in urban society for being pusillanimous, imbecilic, or aristocratic. The third way this word holds power resides in the LGBTQ community in which their goals is to retake the word and shift it from a negative denotation to one of positive pride and identity. While “faggot” holds such different spectrums of significance, one cannot help but wonder where the word acquired its...
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...of Critical Consciousness in Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice: Disentangling Power Dynamics at Personal and Structural Levels Izumi Sakamoto and Ronald O. Pitner Izumi Sakamoto, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of social work at the University of Toronto, Canada. She received her MA in social welfare from Sophia University, Japan, and her MSW, MS (psychology) and Ph.D. (social work and social psychology) from the University of Michigan, USA. Her research interests include anti-oppressive social work, gender and immigration, cultural influences on the self and identities, and cultural negotiation processes of newcomers. Ronald O. Pitner, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of social work at Washington University in Saint Louis, USA. He received his MA in psychology from the University of Tennessee, USA, a MSW and Ph.D. (social work and social psychology) from the University of Michigan, USA. His research interests are broadly defined in terms of social cognition, stereotyping, prejudice, race and ethnicity, multicultural social work. Correspondence to Izumi Sakamoto, Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor St West, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada. E-mail: Izumi.Sakamoto@utoronto.ca Summary One of the limitations of anti-oppressive perspectives (AOPs) in social work is its lack of focus at a micro and individual level. AOPs should entail the social worker’s addressing the needs and assets of service users, challenging the oppressive social structure and, most importantly...
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...This line serves to tell us their opinions of them, which gave a negative connotation. The term “red-haired Westerner” could be comparable to the term “slant eye” when trying to define negative connotation. This tells of the time period of Japan, early 1800’s as we know. The style of this poem matches well with how it sounds. The sentences are noticeably emotional, with short ideas in them. His comments demonstrated a quick and sporadic view of all that was happening. This style adds very well with how the author felt. The poem is oppressive in nature; this is not about welcoming the Westerners. Line 4 of Dutch Ships says “In twenty-five watch stations, bows are bared” which indicates that the Japanese are ready for a fight and not being receptive. This could indicate that the Japanese have had trouble before with the Westerners. The reason for it having an oppressive feel is the level of weariness that the Japanese are exhibiting with their language. Line 21 and 22 illustrates this restlessness in...
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...INTRODUCTION The focus of social constructionism is to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the creation of their perceived reality. It involves looking at the ways social phenomena are created, institutionalized, and made into tradition by humans. Socially constructed reality is seen as an ongoing, dynamic process; reality is re-produced by people acting on their interpretations and their knowledge of it. Social phenomena include all behavior which influences or is influenced by organisms sufficiently alive to respond to one another. Behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or unconscious. Social constructionism can be seen as a source of the postmodern movement, and has been influential in the field of cultural studies. Some have gone so far as to attribute the rise of cultural studies (the cultural turn) to social constructionism. Berger (1966) is perhaps best known for his view that social reality is a form of consciousness. Central to Berger's work is the relationship between society and the individual. In his book The Social Construction of Reality Berger develops a sociological theory: 'Society as Objective Reality and as Subjective Reality'. His analysis of society as subjective reality describes the process by which an individual's conception of reality is produced by his or her interaction with social structures. He writes about how new human...
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... Toni Morrison in her acceptance speech “Nobel Lecture,” places a great deal of importance to the power of language, as well as reminding future generations that having such power takes a lot of responsibility. Morrison’s purpose is to urge us to recognize the lasting impact of the past and warns us against the misuse of language. With a passionate tone, she appeals to the feelings and experiences in her audience. Through her brilliant syntax along with her wonderful use of metaphors, her message is one of optimism and the guarantee that one day the power of language will eventually unite us. By opening with an anecdote of the blind, but wise old woman Morrison introduces us to the life of the bird. The bird’s life can be thought of as living or dead---the same can be said for language. There are the writers who can ‘kill’ the language; it comes to the extent where they begin to drain it, weakening the power from it. In this case, it initially seems that the youth mock the blind woman and want to destroy things the elderly cherish (for example, language) because it’s the believed nature of the youth: “For her dead language is not only one no longer spoken or written, it is an unyielding language content to admire its own paralysis.” In other words, the language with the sole reason that what its saying merely sounds beautiful, it is satisfied and living in bliss. This language that admires itself has come to the point where it doesn’t welcome the flourishing of new ideas, but...
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...How far is language a tool of oppression in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’? Most dystopian novels contain themes of corruption and oppression, therefore in both ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ language is obviously used as a form of the states control, enabling dystopian leaders to remain in power by manipulating language to restrict free thought. Orwell and Atwood have utilized language as a key tool of oppression throughout their novels. The use of language is mostly repressive, language can also be seen as liberating, and used as an act of rebellion, which the state wishes to eliminate. The novel Nineteen Eighty Four contains a world in which language is being systematically corrupted. The introduction of ‘Newspeak’ (official language of Oceania) is created to remove even the possibility of rebellious thoughts as, “In the end the whole notion of goodness and badness will be covered by only six words” - the words by which such thoughts might be articulated have been eliminated from the language. Orwell believed that the corruption of language may be used to oppress an entire group of people which is why he created “Newspeak” in his novel. ‘Newspeak’ has been developed to the point of absurdity, the idea that words are taken away and re-adapted means you are not permitted to express yourself as "the Party seeks to narrow the range of thought altogether”. Newspeak makes the citizens more loyal to the state as citizens may be afraid of the...
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...now! I highly recommend this lifestyle because of the freedom from the country’s oppressive atmosphere it gives. If you happen to live near anyone else always keep tabs on your neighbors houses through telescopes and binoculars, you never know who’s working for Big Brother and sending in reports on you! And don’t forget to encrypt all of your data if you use a computer, an easy way to accomplish this is by using TOR (The Onion Router) where your data is transferred from computer to computer across the globe before it gets to you to keep the government from finding you. This method is safer than using the internet without protection because even though hundreds of thousands of other people can see everything you do and any personal information you are inputting, the government can’t. Finally, to keep yourself completely footprint free, never make any accounts, never fill out any records or documents, never write down your name on any papers, use a language that you make to encrypt all of your writing, and destroy all evidence of yourself every few years. Some people may say “If you hate the government so much, why don’t you just move out of the country?”, the answer to this question is because we need to fight the oppressive power that is the US government! All of the people who own nothing but a laptop, a conspiracy blog, and some clothes need to band together on the internet to fight the power! We can obviously win because of our superior hacking skills; just the other day I...
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...During the late eighteenth century, when Western traders began appearing on the shores of Hawai’i, it had been the Chiefs who approached them and initiated a means to exchange goods that would soon pose substantial financial problems for the Islands (Kelly, 57). The supply of sandalwood was not matching up with its high demand. It was not the fault of the Maka‘ainana, or the commoners, who had no choice but to work in order to provide for those holding power above them, but that of those who promised the merchants this good; the Chiefs. Due to the shortage of sandalwood, the Chiefs were now faced with a large debt as they had already accepted the merchants’ ships as an exchange for their promises (Kelly, 58). Unfamiliar with this new concept and overwhelmed with the demands and threats of foreigners, the Hawaiian government had no choice but to bring in the missionaries thus beginning the transition to a capitalistic Hawai’i (Kelly, 59). The idea to adopt the idea of privately owned property was proposed as a way to stop the oppressive actions of the Chiefs. The poor treatment of the commoners by the Chiefs is what allowed for this progressive idea to be agreed upon by the Mo’i, or the King (Kelly, 63). So, although it was King Kamehameha III...
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...In George Orwell’s 1984 language has become a tool of mind control of the oppressive government and consequently a tool of rebellion against the Party. Winston Smith and Julia fight for the freedom of knowledge that has been manipulated by the Party’s control of everyday and historical language. The Party has created a language called, “Newspeak” which uses the destruction of words to make it impossible for future generations to think for themselves. The role of language in 1984 defines themes of control and the decision to rebel or surrender in a dystopian society where mind control has finally been enforced through language. The Party’s influence on language becomes crucial for its existence when those in power realized that control of language is the control of thoughts. By hindering...
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...join the fight against Napoleon. Frederick William ruled with an iron fist, regarded as one of the most oppressive rulers of the German states, he wanted religious uniformity and was not a fan of the arts or freedom of expression. But little did he know that a young poet was budding in his empire. Heinrich Heine was just a teenager during the Napoleonic wars and the...
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